Gymnastic machine

ABSTRACT

Gymnastic machine ( 1 ) provided with a frame ( 10 ) and with a support device ( 20 ) carried by the frame ( 10 ) to support, in use, a user&#39;s body portion ( 100 ) through respective bearing means ( 21 ) suitable to deform under the action of said body portion ( 100 ); the bearing means ( 21 ) comprise an interface ( 21 ) provided to couple to said respective body portion ( 100 ) in a substantially conjugate manner in order to minimise the specific pressure exchanged in all reciprocal contact points.

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training agiven first body region. In particular, the present invention relates toa gymnastic machine for training a given first body region andcomprising a support device of the deformable type for supporting atleast a second body region; the support device being able to allow amobilisation of this second body region.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In the field of sport practice or of motor rehabilitation it is known toequip gymnastic machines with support devices able, in use, to support auser, as in the case of seats or backrests, or to act as rest for a bodyportion of the user. Consider, for example, stationary bikes or rowingmachines, which are typically provided with a respective seat, orbenches to be used for supporting a user during vertical lifting ofdumbbells or of a barbell. In general, these devices comprise a cushionsupported by a rigid structure serving the function of supporting auser, whilst the cushion has the function of interacting with a bodyportion of the user. In particular, with reference to figure A, thiscushion is deformable under the action of the pressure exerted by theuser to adapt to the shape of the body portion and to make the supportdevice more comfortable for the user.

At this point it should be noted that these cushions are typicallyproduced by using foam rubber or polyurethane foam, and thus producedwith materials provided with limited elasticity and suitable toemphasize an accentuated variation of the rigidity above a given valueof the acting specific pressure. Therefore these cushions, in use, canbe very rigid and badly affect the mobility of the supported bodyportion, compromising the correct execution of gymnastic exercisesinvolving a movement of this body portion. The fewer muscles the useremploying the gymnastic machine has, the more evident this becomes, andtherefore all movements substantially perpendicular to and directedagainst these cushions will be hampered.

To overcome the problem of the limited possibility of movement withrespect to the cushions of the support device, it has been decided toreduce as much as possible the dimension of the contact area between thegiven body portion and the respective cushion/rest. Consider for examplethe benches used for vertical lifting of dumbbells or barbells, in whichthe transverse extension of the support cushion is particularly reducedin such a way as to support only a central region of the user's back soas not to interfere with the movement of the shoulder blades during theexecution of the exercise. Unfortunately, this choice does not allowadequate stability for the user during performance of the respectivegymnastic exercises. For instance, the execution of a session fortraining the pectoral muscles on the bench will require observance ofthe maximum attention and, preferably, the presence of a skilledinstructor to maintain the load to be lifted constantly balanced, inorder to prevent the user from falling laterally from the bench underthe unbalanced action exerted by this load. It is easily understood thatstandardisation in the dimensions of the benches means that the greaterthe body size of the user, or the greater the load associated with thebarbells, the more unsafe these benches become.

Therefore, in view of the above description, the problem of havingavailable a gymnastic machine equipped with at least a support devicewhich comprises at least a bearing member suitable to interact stablywith a user's body portion in such a way as to maximise the contactarea, in order to minimise the intensity of the specific pressuresreciprocally exchanged, and to allow a mobilisation of the body portionmaintained stably in contact with this bearing member, is currentlyunsolved.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention relates to a gymnastic machine for training agiven first body region. In particular, the present invention relates toa gymnastic machine for training a given first body region andcomprising a support device of the deformable type for supporting atleast a second body region, the support device being able to allow amobilisation of this second body region.

The object of the present invention is to provide a gymnastic machineprovided with a support device for supporting at least a user's bodyportion, which allows the disadvantages described above to be solved,and which is suitable to satisfy a plurality of requirements that todate have still not been addressed, and therefore, suitable to representa new and original source of economic interest and capable of modifyingthe current market of gymnastic machines.

According to the present invention a gymnastic machine is provided,equipped with a support device suitable to interact with at least auser's body portion, whose main characteristics are described in atleast one of the appended claims.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to a support deviceeffectively usable in a gymnastic machine for supporting at least auser's body portion.

According to the present invention a support device is provided, whosemain characteristics are described in at least one of the appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the gymnastic machineaccording to the present invention will be more apparent from thedescription below, set forth with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate at least one non-limiting example ofembodiment, in which identical or corresponding parts of the device areidentified by the same reference numbers. In particular:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation view of a first preferredembodiment of a gymnastic machine according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view in enlarged scale according to the line II-IIof FIG. 1 of a detail extracted from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows FIG. 2 in two subsequent phases of use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In FIG. 1, number 1 indicates, in its entirety, a gymnastic machineprovided with a frame 10 carrying a support device 20 suitable tointeract by contact with at least a user's first body portion 100. Inparticular, without however limiting the generality of the presentinvention, the machine 1 is provided with a load group 15 and with animplement 16 connected to this load group 15 by means of a respectivetransmission device 17. For the sake of practicality, it has beenconsidered advantageous to illustrate the present invention withreference to a rowing machine, which hereinafter shall be indicated withthe reference number 1 of the gymnastic machine. Therefore, the supportdevice 20 will comprise a single seat, although the solution illustratedcan also be effectively applied in the case of a bench or a backrest andin any bearing member for bearing the solar plexus or other bodyregions.

With particular reference to FIG. 2, the support device 20 comprises atleast a substantially rigid base 25 and a bearing member 21 stablycoupled to the base 25 and suitable to be engaged by the body portion100. This bearing member 21 is deformable under the action of the loadexerted through the body region 100 so as to assume a shapesubstantially conjugate with the respective body portion 100 to supportit in a stable manner and to prove comfortable.

With particular reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the bearing member 21presents preferably, although without limitation, a multi-layerstructure 24, which comprises a plurality of adjacent layers coupled toeach other. In more detail, the multi-layer structure 24 comprises atleast a first layer 22 suitable to interact directly with the bodyportion 100 and at least a second layer 23 interposed between this firstlayer 22 and the substantially rigid base 25. This second layer 23, issuitable to stiffen under the compression exerted by the body portion100 to give high bearing capacity to the bearing member 21 and, at thesame time, to attenuate mechanical interactions exchanged between thebody portion 100 and the base 25. For this purpose, the second layer 23is produced with a first material 27 comprising, alternatively or incombination, polyurethane foam, foam rubber, latex or a material ofdifferent nature, provided that, at least in the interval of compressionloads to which it must normally be subjected in use, and therefore abovea given compression value, the respective deformation degree or, with anequivalent term, the respective compression deformation percentage issubstantially constant and, thus, substantially unrelated to the valueof the exerted compression. Therefore, this second layer 23 cannot beconsidered an elastic layer as, in use, it tends to be compressed to agiven depth in a manner substantially unrelated to the applied load,although being suitable to deform instantaneously under the action ofthe compression and to promptly return to its given shape when thisaction ceases.

On the contrary, the first layer 22 is produced through a secondmaterial 26 of the elastic or viscoelastic type, and thus suitable todeform through compression in a progressive manner and continuouslyunder the action of the load exerted through the body portion 100.Consequently, the first layer 22, and thus also the bearing member 21 asa whole, is suitable to deform so as to couple with the body portion 100in a substantially conjugate manner, as it comprises this secondmaterial 26. In more detail, when the second material 26 is of theelastic type, the first layer 22 and the bearing member 21 are suitableto deform continuously to actively follow postural variations and/ormovements of the body portion 100 in a substantially matching fashion inorder to support it continuously during the progress of a gymnasticexercise. Furthermore, it should be noted that the deformationpercentage of the first layer 22 is substantially proportional to thecompression load transmitted through the body portion 100 and, in viewof the above description, the first layer 22 is suitable to maintain thecontact with the body portion 100 to support it continuously during theexecution of each respective gymnastic exercise above the base 25.

At this point it should be noted that, if the second material 26 is ofthe substantially viscoelastic type, it may comprise a material withslow shape memory, i.e. a material that, after having been deformed by acompression load and subsequently relieved of the action of thecompression that deformed it in use, is suitable to exhibit asubstantially constant residual deformation for a given time interval,the duration of which is greater than the time that was required toacquire it. This second material 26 may comprise for example, althoughwithout limitation, polyurethane gel or foam of the flexible type, knownin the literature with the acronym FPF. Therefore, a bearing member 21provided with a first layer 22 produced with a second material 26 withslow shape memory will be able to deform under the action of the bodyportion 100 and to maintain this deformation for a given time period,which is greater than the time necessary to perform at least a cyclicmovement of the body portion 100, for example a flexion or an extensionof a limb associated with this body portion 100.

In the case in question, as a user takes his or her place on the bearingmember 21, the respective first layer 22 transmits the load exertedthrough the body portion 100 to the second layer 23 and to the base 25;the second layer 23 is compressed to a substantially given depth and thefirst layer 22 is deformed taking a shape substantially conjugate withthat of the buttocks of the user and, at the front, of a part of thethighs. The fact that the material 26 of the first layer 22 is of theslow shape memory type allows the user to move the thighs freely awayfrom and toward the front portion of the bearing member 21 and to adjustthe position of the buttocks as desired given that the first layer 22remains deformed during the execution of the exercise; this facilitatesthe cyclic rotation of the thighs with respect to the pelvis, thusminimising the energy absorption of the seat with the result that theuser manages to maintain his or her energy reserve for a longer time,and to perform longer or more intense training sessions.

Furthermore, with reference to FIG. 3, it should be noted that the firstlayer 22 is suitable to shape couple in a substantially matching fashionto the body portion 100 and thus, in use, the specific pressure exertedby the bearing member 21 on the body portion 100 is distributed over theentire region of contact between this member and the body portion 100.Taking into account that this specific pressure is exerted on the userby a first layer 22 produced with substantially viscoelastic material,and that materials of this type are suitable to exhibit conditions ofbalance substantially similar to those of the viscous fluids, thisspecific pressure exchanged between the bearing member 21 and the bodyportion 100 can be interpreted as a substantially hydrostatic pressure,i.e. a pressure that in each respective point of application is directlyperpendicular to the surface of the body portion 100 and presents asubstantially constant intensity. Therefore, in view of the abovedescription, it is considered possible to implement the teachingprovided through a bearing member 21 delimited at the top by anymaterial suitable to react hydrostatically to the application of a load.

Lastly, it is apparent that, in view of the above description, the base25 can be interpreted as an integral part of the frame 10, beingintegrally carried by this latter, whilst the bearing member 21 can beinterpreted as an interface 21 suitable to couple in an interactivemanner the body portion 100 to the frame 10. Use of the machine 1 and ofthe support device 20 is easily understood from the description aboveand requires no further explanations. Nonetheless, it may be advisableto specify some advantages deriving from the use of this machine and/orthis device. First of all, as shown in FIG. 3, the bearing member 21 isdesigned for shape coupling with the body portion 100 and it can besuitable to deform so as to adhere to this latter also during therespective movements and/or changes in posture; in this way, it ispossible to distribute the load of the user, and of any additionalcompression action due to the execution of exercises with gravitationalloads or loads of another nature, over the entire contact region betweenthe body portion 100 and the bearing member 21 so as to minimise theintensity of a specific pressure exchanged between the user and thesupport device 20. Furthermore, by using a first viscoelastic layer 22,this specific pressure will be substantially hydrostatic and, therefore,it will present constant intensity in all points of contact between thebody portion 100 and the bearing member 21. It should be noted that thecharacteristics described above prevent the pressure exerted by thebearing member 21 from being concentrated exclusively on limited muscleregions of the body portion 100 in order to prevent the occurrence ofnumbness or inflammation of these muscle regions. Furthermore, againwith reference to FIG. 3, it is possible to note that, if the bearingmember 21 is dimensioned in such a way as to contain, in use, the bodyportion 100 in a bilateral manner along a given direction, the supportdevice 20 is suitable to stabilise a user with respect to actions actingalong this given direction.

Lastly, it is apparent that modifications and variants can be made tothe gymnastic machine 1 and to the device 21 described and illustratedherein, without however departing from the protective scope of thepresent invention.

Lastly, it should be noted that the present invention allows thetechnical problem described above to be solved, i.e. it allows agymnastic machine to be produced, which is equipped with at least asupport device which comprises at least a bearing member suitable tointeract stably with a user's body portion in such a way as to maximisethe contact area, in order to minimise the intensity of the specificpressures mutually exchanged, and to allow a mobilisation of the bodyportion maintained stably in contact with this bearing member.

1. A gymnastic machine (1) provided with a frame (10) and with a supportdevice (20) carried by the frame (10) to support, in use, a user's bodyportion (100) through respective bearing means (21) suitable to deformunder the action of said body portion (100); characterised in that saidbearing means (21) comprise an interface (21) provided to couple to saidbody portion (100) in a substantially conjugate manner in order tominimise a specific pressure exchanged in all reciprocal contact points.2. A machine according to claim 1, characterised in that said interface(21) is designed to exert, in use, a substantially hydrostatic action onsaid body portion (100) in such a way as to make an intensity of thespecific pressure exchanged constant in all reciprocal contact pointsbetween said interface (21) and said body portion (100) and to activelyfollow postural variations and/or movements of said body portion (100)in a substantially matching fashion in order to support it continuouslyduring progress of a gymnastic exercise.
 3. A machine according to claim1, characterised in that said interface (21) comprises at least a firstmaterial (26) of the elastic type to be suitable to deform throughcompression in a progressive manner and continuously under the action ofsaid body portion (100).
 4. A machine according to claim 1,characterised in that said interface (21) comprises at least a firstmaterial (26) of the viscoelastic nature to be suitable to deformthrough compression in a progressive manner and continuously under theaction of said body portion (100).
 5. A machine according to claim 3,characterised in that the deformation degree of said first material (26)is substantially proportional to the compression load to which it issubjected.
 6. A machine according to claim 4, characterised in that thedeformation degree of said first material (26) is substantiallyproportional to the compression load to which it is subjected.
 7. Amachine according to claim 4, characterised in that said first material(26) is a slow shape memory material so that, once deformed in use bythe action of said body portion (100), and when relieved of the actionof said body portion (100), said interface (21) is suitable to exhibit asubstantially constant residual deformation with no load for a givenfirst time interval of greater duration than a second time intervalnecessary to acquire this deformation.
 8. A machine according to claim1, characterised in that said interface (21) is dimensioned so as tocontain, in use, said body portion (100) in a bilateral manner along agiven direction to stabilise said user with respect to actions actingalong this given direction.
 9. A machine according to claim 3,characterised in that said interface (21) presents a multi-layerstructure (24).
 10. A machine according to claim 9, characterised inthat said multi-layer structure (24) comprises at least a first layer(22) produced with said first material (26), and at least a second layer(23) produced with a second material (27) of a given nature, suitable,in use, to stiffen under the load of said body portion (100) toattenuate mechanical interactions between said body portion (100) andsaid frame (10).
 11. A machine according to claim 10, characterised inthat said first layer (22) is interposed between said body portion (100)and said second layer (23) and is suitable to interact directly withsaid body portion (100).
 12. A machine according to claim 3,characterised in that said first material (26) comprises at leastflexible polyurethane foam and/or gel.
 13. A machine according to claim10, characterised in that said interface (21) comprises polyurethanefoam and/or rubber foam and/or latex.
 14. A machine according to claim13, characterised in that said second material (27) comprisespolyurethane foam and/or rubber foam and/or latex.
 15. A machineaccording to claim 6, characterised in that said interface (21) issuitable to exhibit said residual deformation with no load for a saidfirst time interval in the order of seconds; said second time intervalbeing in the order of hundredths of a second.
 16. A support device (20for a gymnastic machine (1) provided with a frame (10); said supportdevice (20) being carried by said frame (10) and being suitable tosupport, in use, a user's body portion (100) through respective bearingmeans (21) suitable to deform under the action of said body portion(100); characterised by comprising an interface (21) provided to coupleto said body portion (100) in a substantially conjugate manner in orderto minimise said specific pressure exchanged in all reciprocal contactpoints.
 17. A device according to claim 16, characterized in that saidinterface (21) comprises at least a first material (26) of viscoelasticnature to be suitable to deform by compression in a progressive mannerand continuously under the action of said body portion (100).
 18. Adevice according to claim 17, characterised in that said first material(26) is a slow shape memory material so that, once deformed in use bythe action of said body portion (100), and when relieved of the actionof said body portion (100), said interface (21) is suitable to exhibit asubstantially constant residual deformation with no load for a givenfirst time interval of greater duration than a second time intervalnecessary to acquire said deformation.
 19. A device according to claim16, characterised in that said interface (21) is dimensioned so as tocontain, in use, said body portion (100) in a bilateral manner along agiven direction to stabilise said user with respect to actions actingalong this given direction.